Reinforced concrete is a popular construction material. It typically uses embedded reinforcement structures that have high tensile strength and ductility to reinforce concrete.
One popular type of reinforcement is a steel reinforcement bar (i.e. rebar). A rebar may be a hot-rolled or cold-drawn metal rod with circular cross section and ribbed surface. The ribs enhance bonding between the rebar and concrete. However, due to small height of the ribs, the bonding between the ribs and concrete can break under the stress, causing slipping of the rebar inside concrete, which weakens the concrete. To obtain the necessary tensile strength of the reinforcement, the number of rebars must be increased, which adversely increases weight of the reinforcement and cost of construction of the reinforced concrete.
Another popular type of reinforcement may be manufactured from tubular blanks with hot-rolled corrugated ribs. This manufacturing method provides a reduced weight of the reinforcement. However, such a tubular reinforcement structure typically cannot be made with a diameter less than 20 mm. Furthermore, the economic gain is insignificant, due to the increased complexity and energy intensity in the manufacturing of such a reinforcement.
Another type of reinforcement is a cable reinforcement, which includes several metal wires wound into strands. This type of reinforcement structure provides a more effective reinforcement than the rebars, but has much higher cost of manufacture.
Thus, there is a need for improved reinforcement for reinforced concrete, which has lower weight and lower cost of manufacture then the known types of reinforcements.